The word “sonder” is uncommon. It is defined as the realization that every person has the same amount of complexity and vibrancy as everybody else.
Sonder was the word chosen as the title of the Class of 2013’s senior thesis dance, which premiered in the Black Box Theatre last weekend. Senior choreographer and dancer Jessica Rexroad said the dancers were inspired by the ways in which newer generations escape their daily lives.
“We as a class have been very inspired by ideas of escapism – how each generation has had their own way of coping with reality,” Rexroad said. “For example, our generation has truncated communication and developed social media to an extent that we use it to escape the conventions of traditional relationships.”
Traditionally, the senior thesis concert was made up of separate pieces, one choreographed by each dancer. But, the Class of 2013 decided to take a different route for their concert.
“The Class of 2013 has revamped this process slightly by deciding to collaboratively produce one full-length, cohesive piece instead of 13 separate pieces to be performed in a festival-style concert as the senior classes before us have done,” Rexroad said. “This changed the development process significantly but it certainly has been an adventure.”
The show was split into three parts: “We were,” “We are” and “We will.” Between each shift, a dancer seamlessly wrote the name of the segment on a blackboard on the back wall. All the dancers were present on stage for the entire one-hour show, watching from various set pieces while their peers danced.
Rexroad said for a shared piece like this one, it was important to take into account each dancer and make sure everyone could contribute equally to the piece.
“One thing we really wanted to do since this is a collaborative piece was make sure everyone’s voice as a choreographer was heard,” Rexroad said. “So we were very intentional about splitting the show into sections with designated teams of choreographers, giving everyone an opportunity to exhibit their own unique style.”
This sense of partnership with creative, individual flair was prevalent throughout the show – at times, the dancers moved in unison, but each let their individual style shine through. The show also played with dynamic lighting, sound effects and props to create a piece that was not only thought-provoking and interesting, but also a successful showcase of the dancers in one of their last performances as undergraduates.
Associate dance professor Lauren Kearns, who co-taught the senior seminar with Karl Green, associate professor of the performing arts, said she is impressed with what her dancers accomplished this year.
“[Overseeing a project like this was] incredibly rewarding,” Kearns said. “In fact, the creative and intellectual depth of this production is something that I have been wanting for our senior dance thesis productions for the last seven years, and this class reached that goal.”
In the last moments of the performance, the dancers joined hands and stepped together to stage left. They have learned, trained and created this piece as a group. Just as they came in together, the dancers of the Class of 2013 stepped off the stage together.